


Rescued

by SuperEllen



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Coda, Episode: s13e13 Devil's Bargain, Fix-It, Gen, Light Angst, M/M, Pre-Slash, Season 13 episode 13, Spoiler!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 07:09:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13631229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperEllen/pseuds/SuperEllen
Summary: SPOILERS FOR 13x13!Castiel and the Winchester brothers have rescued Gabriel, but now they all have to live in the aftermath.





	Rescued

**Author's Note:**

> It's needless to say that Episode 13 has done _something_ to me. When I saw Gabriel in that cell at the end, his mouth sewn shut, I felt the need to write something about it. This is the shortest thing I've written in at least 10 years, but I didn't want to go for a big and complex plot this time. I wanted to go for something simple, and I really hope you'll like it.
> 
> Please remember that English is not my first language, so there might be several mistakes here (especially considering that I've written this in less than 1 hour while falling asleep). You can feel free to let me know if you find any mistakes and I'll correct them.  
> I would love to know what you think about this, so comments and kudos are highly appreciated, as they fuel my self-esteem.
> 
> A translation into Russian is now available outside AO3. The story was translated by [Shiorino](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiorino/pseuds/Shiorino) and you can find it [HERE](https://ficbook.net/readfic/6499886).

“Calm down, Cas. You’re so nervous you’re making _me_ nervous!” Dean requested.

Castiel, however, didn’t care to give sign of having heard him. The angel had been pacing back and forth inside the war room of the bunker, mostly talking to himself and ignoring the presence of Dean, Sam and Donatello entirely. The prophet preferred to keep to himself, and he remained in silence while trying to decipher the ingredients needed for the spell to open the portal to the other dimension. The Winchester brothers, however, were trying to make what had just happened really sink in. 

Just a couple of days before, they’d been following another lead on Lucifer that ended up being a waste of their time, again. Once they’d arrived on location, they’d found Ketch, again. The British man had tried to bargain with them, offering to pass information on Asmodeus to the brothers in order for them to trust him, _again_. The only difference, that time, was that he’d actually revealed a part of the Prince of Hell’s plan. He’d told them that Asmodeus had the only weapon that could kill an archangel at full power: an archangel blade. At Castiel’s doubts about how ineffective such a weapon would have been without an archangel to wield it, he’d replied that the demon also had an archangel.

That specific piece of information had captured everyone’s attention. Cas had been worried, because it only meant that something wrong had been done to one of his brothers. Gabriel and Raphael were dead, did it mean that Asmodeus had taken Michael out of the Cage in order to use him to fight Lucifer? It would have been fitting, but at the same time it would have been a low blow. Michael might have been going crazy in the Cage, but he wasn’t evil. He would have never agreed to work with demons if he’d been in his right mind!

The angel hadn’t even considered what might have been going on inside the Winchester brothers’ heads after Ketch’s words. All he had been able to think about had been how Michael could have betrayed Heaven to find new allies against Lucifer. It would have been a whole new level of low, even for him. Castiel had _never_ , not even for a second, thought that the human might have been talking about a different archangel. That was the reason why, when Sam had asked which was the archangel that had been working with Asmodeus, Ketch’s words had come as such a surprise for him.

“It’s the archangel Gabriel. But, to be honest, I don’t think he’s actually _working with_ Asmodeus, as much he is his prisoner. I’ve only caught a glimpse of him, but I’ve rarely seen people in such a bad shape.” Ketch had said in what had seemed to be a fake concerned tone.

The Winchesters had been worried at the thought that Asmodeus had been able to hurt Gabriel. Because first of all, Chuck himself had confirmed that the archangel was dead, so did it mean that Hell had the power to bring him back to life? In addition to that, Gabriel was one of the most powerful beings they’d ever encountered; he was a freaking archangel, so how could have some demons managed to take him prisoner and reduce him in a bad shape?

Castiel had been furious when he’d heard that Asmodeus had hurt Gabriel so much. Gabriel was good after all, he didn’t deserve such a treatment from filthy demons. In addition to that, his brother had probably been held captive just a few cells away from him the entire time he and Lucifer had been Hell’s prisoners, and he hadn’t known. Had ne known, he would have tried to bust Gabriel out when he made his big escape with Lucifer.

The three of them had rushed into Asmodeus’ lair to rescue Gabriel, and the state they’d found him was disgusting. It only made Castiel even angrier. They’d freed the archangel and they’d taken him to the bunker. The younger angel had healed his brother’s vessel, he’d even shared a portion of his grace with him, in order to help the archangel get better. Gabriel had lost consciousness during the rescue, too weak to keep himself from succumbing to basic human needs such as sleep, but he’d come back to when they got back to the bunker.

That was the reason why, a few hours after having completed the rescue, Castiel still couldn’t calm down. He was on edge, and he didn’t care about the humans that were seeing him act like a madman. He kind of was one, in that moment. He wanted to get back at the Prince of Hell for what he did to his brother, but he knew that he didn’t have the power. Maybe Gabriel, once he was completely healed, would have landed a hand and fought with them. In the meantime, however, it was still too soon to say.

Castiel all but ignored all of Dean’s attempts at making him stop pacing. He was so concerned, so furious. Dean had to grab him by the shoulders and literally yell in his face for the angel to acknowledge his presence. He still acted as if Donatello wasn’t just there, working on the Demon Tablet, and he didn’t really notice when Sam gave a heavy sigh and left the room. For a moment he gave Dean the attention he was seeking, but an instant later he resumed his pacing as if nothing had ever happened.

* * *

Sam couldn’t understand how it was possible that Gabriel had been through Hell – literally – and nobody was actually staying with him to see how he was. He would have never forgotten how pale, hurt and weak the archangel had looked when they’d entered his cell for the rescue. He hadn’t looked like the cocky Trickster that had almost driven the Winchester brothers insane on more than one occasion. So how could they leave him alone when he was starting to heal from everything that he’d been through?

The hunter left the war room and walked into the kitchen, looking for Dean’s super-secret hiding place. There was one, he knew that for sure, as his brother had always had one in every place they’d ever been staying since they were kids. When he finally found Dean’s secret stash of sweets, he took a couple of candy bars and headed towards the guest room that was currently hosting the recovering archangel. The candy was a peace offering, a demonstration of the fact that he wasn’t playing any tricks himself.

When he knocked on Gabriel’s room, a feeble voice replied that he could come in. It was the voice of someone who hadn’t talked in a very long time, and who was still trying to adapt to the fact that now he could speak whenever he wanted. Sam entered the room once he was allowed inside, and he was greeted by the sight of the archangel lying on the bed, looking absently at the ceiling. He was opening and closing his mouth, licking nervously at his lips and smacking them together. Of course, after so much time with his mouth sewn shut he needed to feel the sensation of it moving as much as he could. Sam really couldn’t blame him for that.

“Are you feeling better?” the hunter asked, because what else could he say in such a situation?

Gabriel shrugged before he replied. “Feeling better, I guess.” He was moving his lips a little too much than what was needed in order to speak, but that really was normal given the situation.

Sam smiled at the archangel, a warm smile that was supposed to reassure his guest. Gabriel took a few seconds to look at him, and then he tentatively smiled back. “Here, I brought you something sweet to eat” the hunter said, offering the candy bars to the broken angel. Gabriel’s eyes came to life at the sight of the candy, and with a strength that was finally coming back to him, he grabbed the offered sweets and started to open them. He actually moaned after he took the first bite, and he was so loud that Sam had to force himself not to laugh.

Gabriel gulped down both candy bars more rapidly than even Dean could have. “Man, I was hungry! Thank you, kiddo!” he said after licking his lips and fingers. Sam only smiled in reply, but the smile died on his lips as soon as Gabriel spoke again. “Try going years without eating. It’s not that I actually need it to survive, but sometimes I feel like I’m going to die without candy.”

“I’m so sorry they did that to you,” Sam stated, and it was true. He really _was_ sorry for what Gabriel had to endure.

“No worries. It’s not like I didn’t have that coming or anything!” Gabriel replied, trying to lighten the mood.

“What do you mean?” Sam immediately asked, because a part of him was curious to know what had happened to Gabriel during the time he’d been Asmodeus’ prisoner.

“Oh, you know me. I like to say things to people. So after they threw me in that cell, I kept mouthing off to those demons, until they couldn’t take it anymore and they made sure I wasn’t going to talk again. At that point, I was already too weak to use my grace to even heal myself, so things just kept going worse until my knights in shining flannel came to my rescue.” Gabriel’s voice sounded practical but maybe a little sad while explaining what had happened to him. After he finished talking, however, a small smile appeared on his lips, one that could light his whole battered face.

The hunter felt something very similar to a kick to his guts when he heard what Gabriel had to say. For the first time since the moment they found the archangel in Asmodeus’ cell, Gabriel actually reminded him of the Trickster that had tried his best to torture the Winchester brothers – Sam in particular – in the past. And that was good, because it meant that he was healing. He could come back completely from what he’d had to suffer for who knows how long. He was going to be fine, even though he might have needed some time to be completely back to normal.

“Mouthing off to the demons. That was so like you!” Sam stated, one of his hands landing on the archangel’s arm in order to provide a grounding touch, and Gabriel looked at him with eyes full of gratitude. After that he laughed, and soon the hunter was laughing as well.

It might have taken time, but Gabriel was going to be entirely himself again. And once he was all powerful enough, he probably would have accepted to help against Asmodeus and Lucifer. He could have become a great addition to their team. Mentally, however, he was probably going to stay broken for a while. That meant he was going to fit just fine in their weird and dysfunctional family. The members of their family, however, used to at least try helping each other get better. So Sam was going to be there for Gabriel, hoping that was going to be enough to make a difference.


End file.
